Longmont City Council members heard Tuesday night from several supporters of the Vance Brand Municipal Airport and the benefits those people said the facility provides the city and its economy.

That was a sharp contrast from a Feb. 27 meeting, when a number of people showed up to criticize the airport and the noise that several of that night's speakers objected is caused by its operations in general and Mile-Hi Skydiving's activities in particular.

During a public-invited-to-be-heard portion of the meeting prior to Slayter's presentation, Dan Peters, a member of the city's Airport Advisory Board, said the formal report wouldn't be covering such things as the airport's importance for training military and commercial pilots, and for physicians who fly into Longmont to treat patients at the city's hospitals.

Peters described what he said are the joys Longnmont's airport has brought to pilots, skydivers "and people who love to fly."

Said pilot Dan Berry, a retired aerospace engineer: "We are not lawless, and we are not freeloaders."

Howard Morgan, of the airport's Hanger Owners Association, told the council members that one thing that frustrates him is that "I don't think any of you on the council know exactly what's going on at the airport."

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After Slayter's presentation, during a second opportunity for public comment at the conclusion of Tuesday's meeting, former Airport Advisory Board member Don Dolce said that "the community does not actually have an airport noise issue," even if there are some individuals who make complaints about noise.

Current Airport Advisory Board Chairman Dale VanZant invited the entire council to visit Vance Brand, which he said "is a pretty vibrant small airport."

Several of the other airport-supporting speakers also noted the 2018 Longmont Airport Expo coming up on June 23, featuring flyovers and displays of historic, corporate, military and general aircraft.

The only dissenting position among the speakers came from airport critic Scott Stewart, a Grant Street resident who said he could understand airport fans' passions and desires for a larger municipal airport.

However, he asked, "Are we really trying to compete with the other big boys?" among Colorado's regional airports.

The aviation industry "is in decline," Stewart contended, adding that people in the community like him who "don't wish to have increased air traffic over our homes."

Councilwoman Marcia Martin, the council's non-voting liaison to the Airport Advisory Board, said at one point during the meeting that "we have heard two sides of the story about the airport."

Martin suggested that if the council had "more quantified information" about the airport and its operations, expenses and needs, "maybe that would quiet the arguments somewhat."

She said it would be good for the entire council to hear from the advisory board "about possibilities, priorities."

Councilwoman Bonnie Finley noted that one of the public speakers said the airport needs improvements.

Slayter said "there's a long list of airport needs" — a list he said he'd email to the council members.

Councilman Tim Waters said the written report from Slayter and the Airport Advisory Board "is all useful information." He and several other council members have been arguing that annual reports from city departments or advisory panels need more details about specific goals and how much progress has been made in achieving those goals.

However, Waters told Slayter the report did not spell out performance objectives for the airport or information about what it would need from the council in order to meet those targets.

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